The development and integration of humanitarian engineering curriculum in an engineering technology program

Abstract

Humanitarian Engineering is the application of engineering research and work to directly benefit marginalized people (1). Marginalization in this case can be defined as applying to people who lack the capital to acquire a basic place in society due to a host of reasons. Some common examples of the forces that drive people into a marginalized position include poverty, lack of local language competency, low education attainment opportunity, health issues, and environmental structure related to region, government policies, class systems, etc.(2) Humanitarian engineering is designing to apply engineering knowledge to directly benefit and improve the position and capacity of these marginalized people. In general, humanitarian engineering focuses on appropriate technologies using locally sourced, available resources that are affordable and sustainable. It is participatory in nature and often involves simple solutions to solve problems related to basic needs (i.e. clean water, air, sanitation, heat, shelter etc.). As such, training for one who participates in humanitarian engineering incorporates history, politics, economics, sociology, language, as well as rigorous engineering basics. The nature of humanitarian engineering projects offer a unique opportunity to teach students through an approach that integrates theory with a practical hands-on experience. By creating a learning environment through helping marginalized communities, students are challenged with problems that enhance their critical thinking ability and help them acquire new technical skills. Moreover, the service learning aspect of these projects contribute to students walking away from the experience with a bigger picture and awareness of the world and how they can contribute to solving some of humanity’s challenges. This paper focuses on the development and introduction of humanitarian engineering curriculum to an existing engineering technology program. Specifically, the paper will highlight three innovations which were integrated into the engineering technology program at Metropolitan State University of Denver: The development of a course titled “Humanitarian Engineering”whose first edition took students abroad to do a community development project in Costa Rica. The integrating of a projects class with focus on an engineering project which had students design, construct, test and implement soda-can solar furnaces for a local marginalized community in Denver. The creation of a humanitarian engineering student club and how that club is increasing student involvement in undergraduate research projects and its role in service learning.